1. Are you burdened by student loans that force you to work jobs you really do not like so that you can pay it back?

2. Are you underneath a mortgage on a home?

3. Do you pay loans are your car?

4. Are you able to get up and go anywhere you want?

5. Do you bring your work home with you? (If you enjoy your work, then that’s a different story).

6. Are you so obsessed with the latest gadgets and things?

7. Do you have a lot of credit card debt?

8. Are you happy and satisfied or at least moving towards what you perceive to get you there?

9. Would you keep working your job for free because you like it?

10. Are you doing overtime just to stay afloat and not go into the tank?

11. Do you have free time to do the things you enjoy?

12. When was the last time you got up and felt you were really making a difference?

13. Are you burdened down with fear?

14. Are you too busy?

Solutions:

Don’t watch T.V.
Rent or share a home with someone.
Stop buying things.
Quit your job and do something worthwhile.
Turn on, tune in and drop out. 🙂
Take some risks.
Do your part.
Become self-reliant.
Create yourself, do not let others create you.
Resist greed, anxiety, depression and fear.
Help others.

Now if you’re buried under debt and such, I wouldn’t suggest turning on tuning in and dropping out but I’d suggest really finding out what makes you happy and to move in that direction at least. It has been a long road for me and I’m still working on it and I’m rather on the debt free side but just looking for my niche that is helpful to society and to me.

I told my uncle once that if it takes me 50 years to get there, then it takes me 50 years to get there.

Music and art can change our World for the good. You already know how chaotic it is these days if you are awake: Swine Flu hype, G20 Riots, Vaccinations, Nuclear Standoffs, RFID chips, health care arguments, economy, Iraq War, terrorism, the New World Order, 1st amendment violations, unemployment, and the list can go on and on.

Now if we all rise up together we can push the oppressive things out of the way. I have compiled a Jamendo only playlist of artists I really like because of their honesty and musical quality. Please download at the link below and pass around. We can do this. It isn’t over and as long as we are breathing we can do something.

And here is another idea: If you can play guitar or piano, sing or write, get going and make a song about whatever you are going through. No matter what. Flood the internet with your viewpoint. Let’s not give in to the elite bullies in charge who want to manipulate, con and destroy us with their fear-mongering. These are all distractions.

if you paint or draw do that, too. Flood the internet with your world. We have more numbers behind us than those elite. They hide behind their power and wealth. Come and get going.

Is our only source of comfort our stocks and money? Where do we get our comfort? The Almighty Dollar right? I’ll keep praying to my money. I know that the dollar can hear me. I just know it. Let’s all go down to our local bank and set up a little praying booth and we’ll be heard. We must!

A veteran Hong Kong stock commentator burst into tears during a live television broadcast as she saw HSBC’s shares plunge dramatically seconds before the end of Monday’s trading.

Let’s all have our “19th nervous breakdown”. I caught this guy on tape around 2001. You know what? We all have bad days. We’re never alone.

A lot of stuff is going on right now that is more than mind-boggling. There are a lot of folks out there that have been negligent, ignorant, selfish and greedy. This I believe is why all this bailout, stimulus package has come about.

Do you think that throwing money at these people will help? No! Because it is an internal problem of the mind. It is bad habits and total disregard for doing the right thing. Yeah, in the old days people worked hard to get somethere. There are a lot of Americans still today that do work hard to get somewhere.

My Great Great Grandfather immigrated from France in 1846 to Ohio. He didn’t know English. He learned it and struggled his way to become a country doctor in New Bedford, Ohio. He struggled through hard winters and cared after people with pneumonia and other diseases of the day. There were no cars and he went around by horseback making calls on patients and would be gone from home days at a time. THIS IS AMERICA!

Many people have the “lottery” mentality wishing for everything under the sun to come there way without any lifting of fingers. It is sickening. I believe America will fight the good fight. There is something higher at play, here. Will we exist as a nation of hard workers or a nation of “lottery” lovers. The time is now to wake up and not settle for the mediocre, “I can’t” mentality. Get up, stand up, rise up! For God, For Country, For Honor!

Whose in charge here? We have forgotten what the country was made of. Overseas we get trashed for how America is now. They expect us to lead! How can we lead if we can’t even see through the confusion and chaos? I lived overseas for two and a half years and I was confronted on few occasions about American Politics. Let’s put it aside and go back to our roots. It’s burning within each of us. And by the way, Mr. Attorney General, Americans are not cowards. Shame on you! They stand for what is right.

The creative pursuit is one of the most important things one can do. Sometimes the creative types are a bit fiery and extreme in their thinking. But, isn’t this good though? Creative types bring the passion into society and really are the catalyst to make things happen.

More and more people in America are waking up to what’s going on. Right now, an underground scene is emerging. We are in the midst of the “3rd Wave of Psychedelic” music. The first wave was with the Beatles, the Byrds, the Jefferson Airplane, Love, Strawberry Alarm Clock, the 13th Floor Elevators, Pink Floyd and many others. The second wave had two offshoots: the 1980’s “Paisley Underground” scene in Los Angeles with such bands as the Bangles, the Dream Syndicate, the Three O’clock, Green On Red, the Secret Syde, and Rain Parade. The British offshoot included the post “new wave” bands such as XTC, the Soft Boys, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Shamen, and Doctor and the Medics.1

The “3rd Wave” was born in 2000. The wave is spreading out, now. It consists of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Tyde, Beachwood Sparks, the Quarter After, the Warlocks, the Lovetones, the Telescopes, Spindrift, the High Dials, Floorian, the Black Angels, Silver Apples. (My music fits in this wave. I co-write a song with Dominic Campanella from the Quarter After back in 2001.)

We shall see how things progress from here. The world needs freethinkers and people with passion to guide the way. No need to dumb things down anymore. As the New Hampshire motto says, “Live Free or Die.” America really is at a crossroads. It is time for decisions.

McCain’s recent talk about the Iraq War time schedule seemed a bit comical. I am really not sure what is going on in his head. He said the following in Columbus, Ohio to reporters:

“It’s not a timetable; it’s victory. It’s victory, which I have always predicted. I didn’t know when we were going to win World War II; I just knew we were going to win.” (McCain’s Predictions)

World War II? McCain was born in 1936. He would have been three years old when the war started and nine years old in 1945 when it ended. Why is he talking about that? This is strange.

Let’s do some math with his 2013 target date. “There have been 4,390 coalition deaths — 4,078 Americans, two Australians, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, four Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians — in the war in Iraq as of May 16, 2008, according to a CNN count.” (CNN Casualty Source)

A month back maybe, I was eating at a little restaurant outside and a late 50s overweight man kept saying Amerikanetz (American in Bulgarian) and pointing and carrying on. After much uproar, he finally came over and just sat with me and was drinking Rakia and he bought me a beer. He seemed a bit angry and cursing under his breathe. I had heard the words before by kids at the Black Sea.

I sat there and gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. Eventually, he got on the subject of Iraq. And in my broken Bulgarian I tried to say that I wanted peace and didn’t like conflicts and that I was there in Bulgaria and not Iraq. And that yes America does have problems. It was a strange encounter. He kept toasting me but it felt like he didn’t like me or Americans. He kept saying this word that sounded like “Боклук”. I was quite curious so I took out my dictionary and searched for a word sounding like “Боклук” but I couldn’t find it.

To ease his mind, I started to talk about the Beatles and Bob Dylan and how they were very much for peace back in the day. We left the restaurant and as we were walking he said that his life was the Beatles. As we walked through the streets it felt like I was in a parade and the object of attention. The man asked old babas (grandmas) sitting on outside benches, “Do you know the Beatles and Bob Dylan?” And he said this guy is American. I heard the old ladies say “Beatles” and “Bob Dylan.” Very weird.

Two days ago, I was at another restaurant and I saw him again. I was across the room. When I saw him come in I was like “oh no, not again.” He motioned at me and I hesitated to go over but he kept motioning. So I went over and sat with him again. I quickly noticed that the guy had the same attitude and still muttered “Боклук.”

A few minutes into round two, some of the restaurant staff began laughing. I wasn’t embarrassed. I really just wanted the guy to leave. I didn’t feel threatened. He said it was his birthday. And I finally heard him say тръгвам. So he was leaving. I was so curious about this word he kept saying, “Боклук.”

So I texted a Bulgarian and Боклук means “trash” or “garbage.” So I think that I will avoid this guy if I see him again. I don’t know if he was calling me trash or America or what. He did say Hitler at one point. Doesn’t seem like a pleasant kinda guy. But anyway, “What’s his deal?” I’m like the most peaceful non threatening guy around.

The highlight of our friendly conversation was when he said, “Ti si pich.” Meaning: you are a dude. And I told him that in English and so the guy kept saying in two syllables “duduh.” And not just dude. I still laugh about this drunk guy trying to say “dude” but saying “duduh.”

It is interesting that this guy said his life was the Beatles. I can only hope that others would follow suit. There is too much chalga influence here and not enough influence with substance.

The Blog Documenting the Life Of Jim Guittard

4th Generation Musician and 2nd Generation Writer.
Disclaimer:
MP3s on this site are for sampling purposes only. If you are an artist or represent an artist featured on this site and would like a file removed write me at jfguittard (at) juno (dot) com.